Paclitaxel, rapamycin, and selumetinib are potent chemotherapeutic agents useful in the treatment of a variety of cancers and have the structures shown below.

Due to their limited water solubility, anticancer drugs such as paclitaxel, rapamycin, and selumetinib are commonly formulated for parenteral administration with specialized vehicles that include solvents such as Cremophor® EL (CrEL), DMSO, and/or ethanol. Such non-aqueous solvents are often undesirable from a patient tolerability standpoint. CrEL for example is known to induce hypersensitivity reactions and anaphylaxis, and requires patient treatment with antihistamines and steroids before administration. Micelle compositions have been proposed as safer alternative delivery vehicles for some poorly water soluble and cytotoxic drugs. However, such compositions often suffer from low drug loading and poor stability, leading in vivo to widespread biodistribution and low tumor exposure to the drug.